[Morten Jessen]

Hi all,

A short while ago I bought the new book Robert mentions above about Alfred Mahncke and had my expectations set for something good and maybe a little different. Expectations were fully met and very positively in every aspect. Here are my thoughts on the book…

What makes this book interesting and different from many of the Luftwaffe books currently coming out, is that it gives a unique insight into the life and thoughts of a General der Flieger. This book lands in between the books (autobiographies and others) handling the “top brass” such as Kesselring, Richthofen, Göring etc. and the pilot accounts.

A good example from the book on some of the thoughts he has is from his diary: “On 3 October 1942 I wrote in my diary: It is ominous that neither Hitler nor Göring visited the soldiers at the front this summer, although they did it in the past. This is not right. The Führer has taken over command of the Armee, and in the old days this meant he should have shown himself to his soldiers on special occasions or when things went well or bad. Even an overload of work should not have kept him at home. Totally unacceptable is that Göring, senior commander of the Luftwaffe, does not fulfill this simple duty. In his case one cannot talk of overwork, he is often absent from his HQ and lives on his private estate at Karinhall near Berlin.”

The book also often deals with the daily situations Mahncke experienced and had to handle, as this paragraph describes: “On 7 January [1943] I had to deploy Stukas a few times for our own defense to keep Russian tanks which were crawling all around us, at arm’s length.”

What I find to be a particular strength of this book, is that Mahncke very often puts the situations like the ones quoted above, into a context with his current orders and the overall status on the front. He often reflects on these situations, giving an insight into high points of battles and when he starts to see the turning point of the war.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants a perspective on the Luftwaffe, as seen from a high-ranking officer, who were involved in building the Luftwaffe, who fought on many fronts during the war and had contact with the top and lower ranking soldiers, thus offering very interesting insights into the challenges of daily life, as well as German strategy ... or lack of.

All the best
Morten